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Artist: N.C. Wyeth Artist Dates: 1882-1945 Signed Within Plate: Attibuted Date of Work: 1942 Description: This stirring image by famed illustrator N.C. Wyeth used loaded cultural symbols to stir emotions, from the billowing American flag to a determined Uncle Sam pointing the way to victory. Behind Uncle Sam is a never-ending phalanx of advancing B17s and infantrymen, formations that suggest a unity of purpose and collective strength. Wyeth is considered one of our country’s greatest illustrators and romantic and dramatic images bridged converging 20th century art styles and genres. This collection is from Dr. David Orzeck by descent to his daughter Lida Orzeck and the entire collection is offered without reserve. Lida Orzeck came across more than 750 vintage war posters from World War I and World War II in her family’s home basement that her father, David Orzeck, a Brooklyn doctor, had meticulously collected. Discovered in 1970, the posters â€" of which few pristine prints remain with the exception of the National Archives and the Library of Congress â€" were in mint condition, neatly catalogued and folded in brown wrapping paper from grocery stores. Size: 30"L x 40"H Weight: < 1 pound Provenance: Dr. David Orzeck Condition: Minor tear on bottom (.02"L)Poster has original fold marks and has not been exposed to sunlight, thus preserving the vibrant colors. Recently mounted on archival paper (reversible). Artist Biography: N.C. Wyeth (1882-1945), America's greatest illustrator as well as an accomplished easel painter, dedicated his career to depicting American subjects in a fresh, energetic manner uninfluenced by European art - "true, solid American subjects - nothing foreign about them," as he put it in 1903. N.C.'s lifelong veneration for America's historical traditions, growing out of his New England heritage and strengthened by his Chadds Ford residency in the history-rich Brandywine Valley, manifested itself in idealized, heroic images of such larger-than-life personalities as Paul Revere, George Washington, Nathan Hale, Thomas Jefferson, John Paul Jones and Abraham Lincoln. He painted stalwart views of Stonewall Jackson and Ulysses S. Grant and action-packed renditions of Civil War combat, suggesting valor and patriotism on both sides. Commissioned by the government during World War I to create recruiting and propaganda posters, Wyeth had an output that ranged from images of brave doughboys helping their wounded mates, in "WWI Poster" (1918), to dramatic paintings of terrified Huns surrendering to gun-toting American infantrymen in Kamerad! (1919). Along with other Americans, N.C. was horrified by stories of atrocities committed by the German Army. He responded with vivid, impassioned images, such as "The Abdication of Attila" (1917), done for Life magazine, that suggested that Kaiser Wilhelm had outstripped the infamous Attila the Hun as the epitome of "supreme evil" and the "arch-tyrant" of history. Pondering an offer from the War Department to become an official artist at the Western Front, Wyeth remarked, "I wouldn't mind a crack at a Boche or two, and would be tickled to death if I could disembowel their divine leader...." Responding with equal patriotic fervor to the challenge of World War II, Wyeth underscored the determination of Uncle Sam and our citizen army in Amateurs at War: The American Soldier in Action (1943) and the heroism of GIs in the Pacific in Marines Landing on the Beach (1944). He recognized the contributions of farmers to the Allied effort in Soldiers of the Soil (1942), an illustration for a Brown and Bigelow calendar, and in another calendar work, Our Emblem (1944), reflected the symbolism of the American eagle protecting a tranquil New England hamlet. Wyeth's colorful Buy War Bonds (1942), featuring an assertive Uncle Sam clutching Old Glory and urging on planes overhead and infantrymen on the ground, helped the Treasury Department sell a lot of bonds to back the war effort. One poster sold $200,000 worth of bonds, while another took in $1 million, according to Wyeth biographer David Michaelis. Meta: Poster, WWI, WWII, Military, Militaria, Army, Navy, Marines, AirForce, Propaganda.